1. Field
The present invention relates to the use of ligustilide, especially to the use of ligustilide in stem cell treatment, in particular the use of ligustilide in stem cell treatment of a stroke. The therapeutic effect of the stem cells can be enhanced by treating the stem cells with ligustilide. In particular, the treatment of ligustilide can increase the expression of differentiation-promoting genes in the stem cells, increase the expression of homing-promoting genes in the stem cells, and/or decrease the expression of inflammatory genes in the stem cells. In addition, the present invention also relates to a combined use of ligustilide and ligustilide-treated stem cells, which provides a more efficient therapeutic effect of stem cell treatment.
2. Descriptions of the Related Art
Stem cells, depending on their abilities to self-renew and to differentiate, can be classified into the following four types: totipotent stem cells, pluripotent stem cells, multipotent stem cells and unipotent stem cells. Depending on the appearance order during the developmental process and distributional profile of stem cells, stem cells can be classified into the following two types: embryonic stem cells (ES cells) and adult stem cells. In addition, researchers have shown that cell differentiation is reversible. By introducing specific genes into fully differentiated matured somatic cells, the matured somatic cells are induced to reprogram and form pluripotent cells with characteristics and functions similar to those of an embryonic stem cell, i.e., to form induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). These induced pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into tissues of the human body, and thus, can be used in the research and therapy of the disease.
Currently, in the field of medical research, stem cell therapy brings hope to the patients suffering from diseases which lack effective treatment, such as diabetes mellitus, autoimmune rejection, stroke, myocardial infarction, renal failure, leukemia, muscular dystrophy, severe anemia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and cancer. The pluripotency of stem cells may solve the long-term predicament that is encountered in the treatment of these diseases.
For example, strokes are the most common neurological system disease. Depending on the cause, strokes can be classified as either ischemic or hemorrhagic. According to statistical data, a stroke is one of the top ten leading causes of death in the world. However, only few anti-coagulant drugs or thrombolytic agents can be used for treating strokes, and these drugs and agents are not suitable for every patients suffering from stroke. Therefore, there is an urgent necessity for a novel therapeutic method. Stem cell therapy is by far the most potential therapeutic method in clinical trials. In 1998, stem cell therapy was first applied to the treatment of strokes. Over recent years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the clinical use of stem cells to treat stroke patients.
Researchers have shown that stem cells indeed have a therapeutic effect on treating stroke, however, the survival rate of stem cells after being transplanted into a subject's body was unfavorable. Therefore, there is a necessity and urgency for developing a method or a drug for enhancing the therapeutic effect of stem cells effectively to improve the disease cure rate.
Inventors of the present invention found that stem cells treated with ligustilide can provide an enhanced therapeutic effect. In addition, the therapeutic effect provided by a combination of ligustilide and ligustilide-treated stem cells is better than that provided by using ligustilide-treated stem cells independently.